The Power of User Generated Content

You may not think it, but you have a voice that could put Pavarotti to shame with its power and pitch. And the world is your stage.

Why? Because in the digital age your opinion really counts. Whether singing someone’s praises or voicing your doubts, you’ve an audience eager to listen and a reach that knows no bounds.

The rise of user generated content

It’s no secret that the way consumers make decisions has dramatically changed over the last decade.

Figures show a massive 92% of shoppers read online reviews before making a purchase, and 88% trust these reviews as much as they trust personal recommendations.

With increased accessibility to real-time, real-life reviews of products or services through rate-and-review tools and the use of the ever-present smartphone, consumers now have instant access to an infinite number of online reviews to help with their decision making.

92% of shoppers read online reviews

And the great thing about this willingness to share opinion is that effective feedback benefits the giver, the receiver and the company in question: it is what we call user generated content (UGC). Not only can consumers gain from shared experience but organisations can too.

Shaping the future

For top performing companies ‘continuous improvement’ is not just a showy catchphrase. It’s a true focus based on feedback. Companies are increasingly aware that a brand is made or damaged by customers themselves based on their journey with a provider.

Continuous improvement is one of our mantras

This is why we’ve turned to online reviews. We want people to let each other know what being a Standard Life customer feels like. And listening to some honest opinion gives us a chance to review and refine our products and improve our services to deliver the best possible journey we can. The value that user generated content can bring is endless.

How do we do it?

We do it impartially by involving an independent third party called Reevoo – a user-generated content collection platform which allows customers to share their experiences when interacting with the Standard Life UK brand. We do it transparently by publishing 100% of the reviews we receive, whether those are positive or negative.

We want people to share experiences

And your feedback has already made a big difference to the way we work. We’ve been able to draw measurable and actionable insight and use this to inform our design thinking.

Here’s what Mickael Paris, our Head of Digital Marketing has to say:

“Providing our customers with a positive experience – online and offline – is absolutely crucial. Long gone are the days when communication was solely done by brands.

“Our core focus here at Standard Life is providing the best experience for our customers. This is why we’ve begun working with Reevoo. We are listening to our customers’ feedback and sharing their experiences with the wider world transparently.

There’s really nothing like a bad review. It’s an opportunity for us to learn and improve, making things better for everyone.”

A bad review is an opportunity

Jonathan Callcut, CEO at Reevoo, also shared some of his thoughts on how we are using Reevoo to improve our customers’ experience:

“A lot of finance brands love to talk, but not all like to listen. Standard Life isn’t just harnessing the voice of its customers and letting them share their opinions, but taking it to the next level and using what people are saying to influence its products and services.

We believe that truly customer-centric brands stand out from the competition, especially in financial services. Reevoo looks forward to continuing to help Standard Life put customers at the heart of what it does.”

Our focus is to provide the best user experience possible for all customers and reviews of our journeys have allowed us to find any pain points and address them quickly.

We’ve been able to spot flaws in our application designs and make refinements and improvements that will enhance the experience for customers who come later. And for that we thank you.

Creating a bond

Another reason for using Reevoo, like the MoneyPlus Community, is to foster consumer engagement. We like the idea of our customers and beyond interacting with one another, sharing ideas and forming an attachment, both with Standard Life and with other like-minded individuals.

Your opinion counts

Test and learn

Next steps for Reevoo are to implement it across more user journeys, particularly in the Secure Dashboard. We are keen to get more feedback on our new Retirement Journey to understand if we are providing the right information and ease of access for all of our customers.

We’ll then use this intelligence to shape our design thinking and improve the experience for everyone.

We’re listening

At the beginning of this article we stated ‘your opinion counts’ – it really does. Reevoo allows us to better understand and, most importantly, better serve you. So please share your thoughts with the world and with us, be they good or bad.

Standard Life is the brand for Standard Life’s UK direct customer proposition and features products provided by Standard Life Assurance Limited and other subsidiaries of Standard Life Aberdeen plc. See Legal information for our list of product providers.

Standard Life Assurance Limited is registered in Scotland (SC286833) at Standard Life House, 30 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH1 2DH. Standard Life Assurance Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority, and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.